Dark Destinies
by Rilwen-Shadowflame
Summary: Set approx. 3000 BBY, two young Jedi go on a mission together. They will find much more than they bargained for. No canon characters, all OCs due to the era. Jedi and Sith fic.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. I will never own Star Wars. All I own are my ideas, and my OCs. I'm broke, so not worth Lucas' time to sue me.

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**Dark Destinies  
**_Chapter One_

"Master Zarash, please. Let us prove that we can do this." Jedi Knight Vico Rizan spoke earnestly, dark almond-shaped eyes widened with sincerity in his tanned bronze face. The target of his attempts at persuasion was Jedi Master Arek Zarash, a tall Ferroan with pale blue skin and hair gone jet-black with age.

Zarash shrugged noncommittally. "You are both capable. You are both skilled. Yet you have had emotional difficulties. No harm has been done, so you have only been cautioned. But a mission together? You must not be distracted from your goals. You know the rules. Could you follow them in such a situation?"

"We could, Master Zarash," responded Jenisa Oras quickly. Her hair was glossy black, and so curly that she'd had to clip it short for practicality's sake. It complemented her skin's dark chocolate hue, and her wide brown eyes.

Zarash sighed. "Go then, and may the Force be with you."

"May the Force be with you, Master Zarash," the pair responded.

Only once they were alone on board ship and on their way did their dignified and earnest demeanour relax. Vico sprawled in his seat, one hand absently ruffling up his spiky dark hair. "At least he let us go," he muttered. "Not all the Masters would have."

It was true. The two Knights were still looked upon with a certain degree of suspicion, though their offence had supposedly been forgotten. Attachments were forbidden, after all, making their steadfast friendship the subject of some warnings, even before the party at which a fellow Jedi had seen them kiss. They had firmly avowed no recollection of the night, looking penitent and swearing never to drink to excess again. It had been dismissed as a mishap, but one that required especial caution to ensure that it never happened again. As a result, both were heartily sick of the constant scrutiny.

Now, Jenisa held a finger to her lips, motioning for silence. She ducked beneath a console, emerging with a small electronic device. Further search, via the recordings the ship had made while being prepared for the journey, revealed two more such devices.

"We should meditate while we travel," Jenisa announced, face bland.

"Wh-Oh. Yes. Yes, we should," Vico responded. He waited until the devices had been turned off- an excuse having been given for silence- then scowled. "_Bugging_ the ship? Bugging the _ship_? They could try _trusting_ us!"

Jenisa grinned, teeth startlingly white against her skin. "_Are_ we trustworthy?" she wanted to know.

"We would have been," Vico growled. He looked up at her. "But since they don't want to trust us, why should we bother being worthy of the trust they refuse to give us?"

She nodded. "Distractions, they say. Well, it's not like us being distracted will throw the ship out of hyperspace."

They laughed, but both felt prickles of unease. Vico dispelled the disturbance by smiling. "Wouldn't want to be _too_ distracted, in case of an emergency. Shall we try for moderately distracted?"

Jenisa kissed his cheek and curled up against him in the seat. "Moderately distracted will do," she agreed. "Besides, I'm sleepy. Haven't rested since before duelling practice."

Vico nodded, his own eyes sliding closed. "True…"

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I'd very much welcome reviews.


	2. Chapter 2

**Dark Destinies**  
_Chapter Two_

When they woke, the ship was hanging in orbit above a barren, desolate planet.

"This must be the mission site that was in the data chip. We're to search, apparently…We'll know what we're looking for when we find it." Carefully, Vico piloted the ship down.

"This place is awful," Jenisa shivered, looking around. Small dust clouds drifted past the ship's ramp. "It feels…wrong. Like scavenger birds over their prey. Something knows we're here."

Vico nodded. "It feels creepy. But I've heard stories about things like this. We must be here to confront our fears or something."

"But there's nothing _to_ confront! It's all just rocks and dust, and that horrible empty watching."

Vico looked at her, concerned. She was trembling, lips pressed together in a tense line. "Jeni, it's okay. We're going to find what we were sent for, and then we're going to leave."

She managed a small smile. "Thanks, Vic. Where do you think we should start looking?"

"We could try up in the hills there," he suggested.

Unloading their speeder bikes and closing the ship, they set off. It didn't take them long to reach the hills, which on closer inspection were dotted with caves. Choosing one, they walked in. The small handlights they carried illuminated their path; and it _was_ a path, the cave's floor perfectly smooth, with a slight downwards slope. With some wariness, they noted smaller passages leading off. From one of these, abruptly, there glittered a pair of eyes, red in the handlights' beams.

The creature that leapt at them was like nothing they had seen before, with slavering, fang-filled jaws, a spiky tail, and almost reptilian skin. Nico's blade flashed blue in his free hand, severing a needle-clawed paw. The animal snarled, staggering forward on its three remaining limbs, but he stepped aside and deftly beheaded it.

"What _was_ that?"

"Ugly, fierce, and unhappy about visitors?"

Jenisa laughed briefly. "No, what kind of creature? I've never seen anything that looked like that before."

"No idea. Some kind of lizard-hound thing."

They kept walking, looking around often, in case there were more of the lizard-hounds. At another tunnel intersection, Vico paused, as something metallic glinted amid the shadows. Jenisa stopped, watching as he investigated.

"Security droid of some kind. Broken," he called back.

Suddenly, the caverns shook. A tremor brought rocks tumbling down, and Jenisa was forced to jump backwards to avoid being hit. She stared at the wall of rubble. They were separated.

She ignited her lightsaber, preparing to cut her way through, but a ripple in the Force warned her. Jenisa turned, skewering a lizard-hound even as it leapt at her. Its weight and momentum knocked her over, the dead creature on top, her lightsaber turned off instantly to avoid injuring herself.


	3. Chapter 3

**Dark Destinies**  
_Chapter Three_

Meanwhile, a mechanical whirring diverted Vico from his efforts at dislodging the rocks. Heart sinking, he realised that the droid had not been quite as broken as it had looked. He was forced to drop his handlight, needing both hands to wield his lightsaber against the droid. Even the blasts he deflected back at it hardly dented its armour. Taking a chance, Vico charged in, plunging his blade into the droid. It sputtered, sparked, and stopped. It had been headless, but apparently its operating systems were located in the area of its torso that Vico had just melted.

_"…Very good, little Jedi…"_

Vico looked around as a whispering voice drifted to his mind. "Who are you? Where are you? Show yourself!"

_"…I'm here, little Jedi. Do you want to find your friend? I can take you to her…"_

Vico shook his head, slicing into the pile of rubble again and again. "No! She's here, she's just on the other side, she'll be waiting!" When he had cut enough space to see through, he called, "Jenisa! Jeni! Where are you?" There was no sign of her. The handlight she had carried lay broken and useless amid the corpses of three lizard-hounds.

_"…She's gone, little Jedi, little fighter in the dark. She's gone…"_ The voice seemed to hold a kind of gloating chuckle. _"…I can show you where she is…there are ten thousand tunnels in this cave. You cannot find her alone…"_

Vico swallowed hard, fighting despair. "Alright. Show me."

Jenisa ran through the darkness, holding her lightsaber out in front of her to light her way. Its golden light was her only guide now; her handlight had been broken. There had been too many of the creatures, and so she had fought them off, driving them away long enough for her to escape. She stopped. Dead end. Jenisa looked around wildly as an eerie chuckle drifted through the air.

_"…Hello, child…"_

"Who are you?" she whispered, eyes wide.

_"…I think you know who I am, child. Can you not feel the truth of this place? Open your mind, and let yourself feel it…"_

Jenisa lowered her lightsaber, then raised it again. "I feel…cold. The Dark Side is strong here."

_"…Yes…You asked who I am, child. I __**am**__ the Dark Side. I am Sith. I am Darth Mordantus, and your friend has chosen to follow me…"_

Jenisa gasped. "No, that isn't true! He'd never join a Sith!"  


_"…Shall I take you to him? You can ask him yourself…but I suggest you play a bit more with my little pets first…"_ There was a malicious laugh, and then the voice became silent.

The first of the lizard-hounds charged her. Stabbing it, she was left vulnerable to the charge of the next, which tore her robe as she stumbled backwards, her back now against the stone of the dead end, her saber still embedded in the body of the first. She reached out, calling her hilt back into her hand, but a lizard-hound snapped it out of the air, trapping it and damaging the hilt.


	4. Chapter 4

**Dark Destinies**  
_Chapter Four_

Jenisa looked around for another weapon; there was a sword, just visible in the dim light. The Force brought it to her, and she slashed at the lizard-hound pack as sick, black triumph surged in her mind. She killed them all quickly, but had to fight to keep from running them through again and again, her customary fierce pride at success transforming into an ugly joy at killing. Jenisa realised that it was the sword; somehow, it was controlling her. She tried to throw it away, but a number of spikes slid out of the hilt, fastening within her hand. Jenisa cried out, falling to her knees with the pain.

Gritting her teeth, she used her other hand to retrieve her lightsaber. It was still functional, she thought. Using it once again to light her way, she walked slowly along the tunnel. "Alright then," she called. "You want me to ask him myself, so show me where he is!"

_"…Certainly, child. Follow…"_

Vico had been following the directions of the bodiless voice for about half an hour. Now, he found himself in a high, vaulted chamber with a stone tomb in the centre. "Jenisa?" he called uncertainly.

_"…So sorry, little Jedi. She's not here yet. But she will be. She comes to kneel beside my tomb, to beg to serve me...to serve the Sith…"_

"No!"

_"…There is no 'no' about it, little Jedi. Only __**yes**__. Only __**me**__. Only __**this**__…"_

Black weblike tendrils surged up, snaring Vico. A dark mask floated out of a corner, settling itself on his face as he thrashed wildly against his bonds. The mask's straps fastened with a click, and Vico sagged, suddenly dizzy.

_"…Now, little Jedi, you will discover the truth. Jenisa is mine now, your pretty Jenisa of the bright gold blade. She has learned the power of the Dark Side, and she comes here to kill you. You will die, unless you counter her…and you cannot use the Force against her in that mask…unless you use your anger…"_

A talisman dropped into place around Vico's neck. He looked around, seeking a way out. His desperate gaze was inadvertently drawn by the runes on the wall; he could understand them! Vico dropped as searing pain surged in his mind, forcing him to the floor. He could hear that ghostly voice laughing. Vico raised his head. "Think this is funny, do you? I'll show you funny!" he shouted, before slumping weakly to the ground again, passing out as his strength deserted him.

Jenisa walked quickly, forcing herself on despite the pain in her hand. She found herself focusing on it, flexing her hand slightly, drawing upon the pain to keep herself alert.

_"…You know, there is a way to make that sword release your hand, child. All you have to do is let the Dark Side flow through you fully, and the sword will let go. It will stop __hurting you…"_

"Just tell me where to go, without all the recruitment attempts," Jenisa commented acidly.

_"…As you wish…though your friend Vico was not nearly so deaf to the offers, I must say. So eager…so willing…Now __**there**__ is one just waiting for someone to unleash his fury upon…"_

A finger of worry touched Jenisa's heart. Vico _was_ impatient…But no. He wouldn't. Surely.

_"…This way, child…"_

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****A/N: In case you are wondering about the talisman, it is a Sith amulet, of the type that allows one to read Sith writings...but exerts a powerful influence to turn one to the Dark Side at the same time. The Sith modified their amulets this way to trap Jedi, who'd previously been using captured amulets. The mask, also, is a Sith artifact; it prevents the wearer from using the Force unless they used the Dark Side. It was used in interrogations of captured Jedi. This has been your scheduled lesson on Sith artifacts for today. And now you know.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Dark Destinies**  
_Chapter Five_

Vico lifted his head, slowly and painfully getting to his feet. A strange kind of clarity suffused him, and he found himself sinking into the Force, beyond the normal limits of his power. Strength seeped into his body. Vico heard footsteps approaching, and Jenisa came into view. No longer bound as tightly by the black webbing, he approached her, forgetting the view presented by the mask and talisman. He stopped short, seeing her raise slightly the weapons she held, one of which was clearly recognisable as a Sith sword.

Acting on some new instinct, he ignited his lightsaber. His mask fell away, and the webbing released him entirely. Vico's face was grim, and the look in his eyes was merciless. Jenisa's eyes widened and she held up the sword, bracing herself for an attack. Fighting free of the chaos in her mind, she whispered, "Vic…please…"

Vico lowered and deactivated his lightsaber. He suddenly knew what he had to do. The spirit within this place would not allow both of them to leave. Better that it be her. He gripped the blade of the sword, letting it cut his palm. The blood trickled down onto the hilt, and the spikes retracted, freeing Jenisa's hand. "Jeni, you have to get out of here," he said urgently. "I cannot come with you. Go. Please!"

Dark eyes brimming with tears, Jenisa nodded, turned and began to climb a twisting stone staircase in the corner of the vast room. Soon, she was on the surface, and returning to where they had left the speeder bikes. Vico watched her go, barely noticing the webbing entrapping him once more.

"What happened?" asked Master Zarash as the battered and bloodstained woman staggered from the ship.

Jenisa gave a hollow laugh. "Our mission is what happened." She flipped the datachip to him.

Zarash inserted it in a small portable reader, and his eyes widened at the information given. "But…this location is within what used to be Sith Space!"

"It's where we were sent," was the flat reply.

"This…this is a terrible mistake! The one who programmed it put the coordinate numbers in the wrong order!"

Jenisa drew herself up. "A _mistake_?" she hissed. "A programmer's error caused the loss of Vico Rizan? A mistake sent us to a Sith maze?" She laughed wildly.

"Jedi Knight Oras, that is enough. We all regret this tragedy, but you must let go of your grief. You held an attachment to him, that is clear, and now you maintain an attachment to your anger and sorrow."

"Attachment? I loved him! Can you understand that? Do you even know the meaning of the word?" Jenisa demanded.  


"Jedi Oras, you are to return to your chambers and remain there, pending a meeting with the council. I hope that we may soon see your return to the Light." Zarash spoke implacably, his voice softening only slightly at the last.

Jenisa responded coldly. "Oh, I don't think so." Borne up by the strength of her anger, she stormed back into the ship, taking off rapidly.

The navicomp had stored the information she needed. Jenisa Oras, Jedi no longer, smiled grimly as she confirmed the destination and activated the hyperdrive.

Brought to the surface by the sound of a ship, Vico Rizan, Sith in training, stared in shock at Jenisa. She lowered her eyes briefly. "I left the Order. Am I unwelcome here?"

_"…No…"_ The voice of the Sith Spirit Darth Mordantus drifted up out of the dark stairway. _"…Look well at her, Rizan, for she shall be your apprentice, even as you are mine…Together, you will restore the full power and glory of the Sith…"_

Vico draped an arm around Jenisa's shoulders, and she slid her arm around his waist as they listened to the voice of a long-dead Sith Lord.

They would find power. They would find knowledge. And they would do it together, freed from the restrictions of the Order whose mistake had sent them here…to their destiny.

--_End_--

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**A/N: Dark Destinies, complete. I hope you've enjoyed it. I would very much appreciate reviews.**


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